4 moves to build abs of steel

Train hard, eat well, and include these abdominal exercises in your program to pave the way for a cut and ripped midsection.

We all want to feel great, build muscle, and stay lean. Most of us also want to keep our midsection in check. Just about any guy trying to cut down on bodyfat and get in shape looks at his gut to see if it's evaporated even the tiniest bit during a grueling gym session. It’s only natural, since those coveted abdominals are considered centerpiece of any guy's physique.

But there's a catch. Endless amounts of abdominal exercises will have very little effect on your effort to trim your waistline. Spot-reducing is a myth: Just because you work a body part hard in the gym doesn't mean fat will fall off it. It simply won't happen. Instead, your overall nutritional intake will determine how lean you will become and how your body will look.

Moral of the story: A great diet and proper exercise are both critical components of improving overall health, athletic performance, and aesthetics. Working the rectus abdominus—the technical term for your six-pack muscles—is your ticket to a strong core and bigger muscles.

The coveted abdominal area

Sculpting a set of 6-pack of abs takes a lot of work and discipline. You need to eat quality foods in the proper portions and work out hard at least three days a week to get in shape.

When most people think of the core, they think of just the abdominals. But the core is actually composed of many muscles, such as the glutes, hip flexors, and obliques. The anterior core—the "front" part of your core muscles—is where the abdominals come in.

Improving your abdominal strength will help improve your posture by having an anti-extension affect on your lower back. Ab work will also teach you to engage your core, helping to prevent lower back stress.

1. TRX Standing Rollout

This is a great anterior core option for almost anyone of any level of fitness. You can vary the intensity of this exercise by decreasing or increasing the lever arm of your body by walking forward or backward. Make sure to keep your abs and glutes tight at all times. To keep continuous tension on the abs, your heels should not touch the ground during this exercise.

If the standing version of this exercise is too difficult, you can go down onto both knees to make it easier, yet still effective.

2. Ab Wheel Rollout

Out of all the rollout variations, this one is a favorite. It taxes your abs quite a bit, and requires your core to be pretty strong without engaging your lower back. Try to keeping your feet up, so you don't cheat by pulling with your legs.

Start with a TRX strap or stability ball rollout before you try the wheel.

3. Valslide Push Aways on Feet

This ab exercise also requires a great deal of upper-body strength. You really have to brace your abs, squeeze your glutes and keep perfect prone posture the whole time. This exercise also mimics a push-up, so you get some good upper-body work in as well. Doing this on your feet is pretty tough. You can make this exercise harder by keeping your feet closer together, and make it easier by widening your stance or even going down on your knees.

4. Toes-to-Bar and Hanging Leg Raise

This gymnastic movement is an advanced version of the knees-to-bar raise and hanging leg raise. It utilizes the lats, core, hip flexors, biceps and smaller muscles in the back. This exercise requires the body to bow from a global extension (hanging hollow body position) to a global flexion (pike position).

This exercise isn't for everyone, though. You must master the hanging straight leg raise and a proper "kip" first. Once you get strong enough, do low reps with no kip action.